Web feeding and slitting mechanism



w.F. HUCK 2,412,047 WEB FEEDING AND SLITTING MECHANISM Dec. 3, 1946.

Filed Sept. 8, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTORL Patented D tion ofNewYork' This invention relates to printing machines andmoreparticularly to web feeding and slitting I mechanisms for machines thatprint on a web of paper or other material.

The device of the invention is especially useful in combination with adrag roller such as is usually positioned over a former folder, forsimultaneously slitting a number of webs,'and in cooperation with thedrag roller, feeding the .webs to and over the former, but it can alsobe used efliciently elsewhere in the printing machine."

The use of the device of the invention eliminates the necessity forusing pressure rollers which are commonly called :"trolley rollers, topress the a web, or webs, against the drag roller,

An object of the invention is to provide a combined web slitter and webpresser member for use in cooperation with an abutment roller to slitand feed webs.

Another object is to provide, in combination with a rotary web slittingknife, web pressin means driven.in unison with the'slitting knife andarranged to engage the web edges adjacent the vplace where the. web isslit, and press the edgesagainst the abutment roller.

It is also an object of the invention toprovlde' an improved webslitting and feeding device for a printing press which will be simple,durable and relatively inexpensive in construction, as well asconvenient, practical, serviceable,,and efficient I F q,

in use.

With the foregoing and other objects in view,

\ that will appear as the description proceeds, the

invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts, and inthe details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it beingunderstood that various changes in the precise embodimentof theinvention herein disclosed may be made within the scope of what isclaimed, withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention.

' monly called a drag roller.

Application September-,8, 1944, Serial No. 553,196 11cm (Cl.164-81)- 2web slitter and feeding device, taken on the line HofFigure 2; and

Figure 4 is a sectional view of the device taken on line 4-4 of Figure3. J

The combined web slitting and feeding device of this invention isarranged for slitting and feeding a web or webs Ii (Figures 1 and 2),into ribbons that arecarried over formers l2 and i3. The device issupported in cooperating relation with an abutment roller I, which isalso com- I From each of the formers l2 and i3, the web or webs ii, arefed between folding rollers i5 and It to a delivery of the printingmachine. The drag roller I4 is driven from the printing machine drive(not shown), through a gear l1 secured to its shaft l8. The, dra'groller- II is commonly provided with a number ofsuitably positionedgrooves 2|, any

of which may cooperate with a slitting blade l3,

that is preferably made in two semi-circular pieces I911 and "lbrespectively so that it may readily be removed and replaced. As hereinshown, one slitting device is positioned on a shaft 22, for cutting aweb into two ribbons; and two additional devices are shown in dottedlines. By using one or both of these additional slitting de-" vices, theweb or webs ii, may be cut into three or four ribbons, as required.

The slitter shaft 22 is driven through a gear 23, that is in meshwith-the gear' H on the shaft it of the drag roller ll. Suitable webfeeding devices 24 and 25 are mounted on the shaft", being disposedthereqn to en e the outer edges of the web or webs ii, and beingarranged to be driven by the shaft 22. These web feeding devices 24 and25 are preferably similar to the de- A preferred embodiment of theinvention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, where- Figure 1is a view showing a pair of formers, and a drag roller in cooperationwith the web slitting and feeding device of the invention, whereby a webor webs may be cut into two or more ribbons and these ribbons fed to thefon'ners;

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view through the drag or abutment rollerand. showing an end view of the combined web slitter and feeding device;

F'igurefi is a sectional view of the combined vice of the inventionherein disclosed, but the slitting member is omitted. V

- As best shown in Figure 3, the slitting knife I! is mounted on aslitter seat 2'! of a sleeve 28, that is secured to the shaft 22 by a,set screw 29. The knife I5 is' disposed between two annular web pressermembers, or rings 3| and 32 each having parallel faces 33 and 34. Therings 3| .and 32 ,are arranged to bepressed against opposite sides ofthe knife I9 and the rings are driven from the shaft 22 by being pressedbetween a. face 36 of a.

collar'31, and a face 38 of a flanged collar portion 330i the sleeve 28.The collar 31 has a *cylindrical stepped surface I l positioned insideof the ring-3|, and'the flanged portion 39 of the sleeve 28 has acylindrical stepped. surface 42 positioned inside of the ring 32. Theinternal 'diameters of the rings 3! and 32 are greater than the externaldiameters of the cylindrical surfaces ti and 42 by an outer edge 5| of acup-shaped circular adjustin g nut 52 which is screw-threaded into thesleeve 28. Tightening or loosening the nut 52 will adjust the pressureof thedisc springs" against the collar 81 and thus will adjust thepressure applied to the sides of the rings 8| and 82 as well as thepressure of these rings against the knife l9. Pins 58 secured in theflanged portion 88 of sleeve 28, extend through holes 54 provided in theslitting knife l8 and cause the knife l9 to rotate with the sleeve 28when it is rotated by the shaft 22. The pins 58 also provide a means forholding the two halves of the knife I9 in position.

Plungers 58 carried by the-nut 52, and having V-shaped ends 51, arespring pressed by coiled springs 58 into v-shapedgrooves 58 cut into thesleeves 28, to hold the nut 52 in its adjusted positions. The springs 58are seated in openings 8| provided in the plunger 58 and abut againstre-' movable slotted pins 82 inserted axially into the nut,52 adjacentits periphery. A snap ring 88 inserted in a groove 84 in the front endof the sleeve 28 forms a stop for the nut 52 when it is retracted. Whenassociated with an abutment roller I4, the web slitting and feedingdevice herein disclosed slits the web or webs II by cooperation of theknife l8 and the slot or groove 2| in the abutting roller, while the-annular presser members 8| and 82 on each side of the knife l8 pressthe ribbon edges, at the out, against the roller l4, whereby an evenfeeding force will be applied to-each of these edges while the web isbeing slit. The difference in diameter between the inner periphery 85 ofeach ring 8| or 82, and the outer diameter of the stepped surfaces 4| ofthe friction collar 81, and 42 of the sleeve 28, permits the rings 8|and 82 to be moved laterally with respect to their axes, or'in. otherwords to be pushed of! center and into eccentric relation to theirdriving members,'the friction collar 81-, the

to receive the edge of the slitter knife to slit the webs, an annularpresser member having two parallel friction faces in planes normal toits axis and one of which faces engages the slittter knife, and meansrotating with the slitter knife and having a' driving memberfrictionally engaging the other contact face of the presser member, thepresser'member being adapted to move laterally in respect to its axiswithout movin the driving member and into an eccentric position relativeto the axis of the slitter knife .to yieldingly press the ribbons cutfrom the webs against the abutment roller and thereby feed them forward.

2.- In a device for cutting webs into ribbons, a slitter knife rotatableabout its axis, an abutment roller rotatable on an axis parallel to theaxis of the slitter knife and cooperating therewith to cut the webs, anannular presser member at eachv side of the slitter knife, and havingone side in engagement therewith, and a collar member rotating with theslitter knife and in frictional engagement with the other side ofeach-presser member, the prr sser members being adapted to movelaterally in respect to the axis of the slitter knife into an eccentricposition to press each edge formed by cutting the webs into ribbonsagainst the abutment roller to feed the ribbons forward.

3. In a device for cutting webs into ribbons, a slitter knife rotatableabout its axis, an abutment roller rotatable on an axis parallel to theaxis of the slitter knife and cooperating therewith to cut the webs, twoannular presser members each having a side face in engagement with oneside face of the slitter knife, and two collars rotating with theslitter knife and in frictional engagement with the other faces of thepresser member, the presser members being adapted to move laterally intoeccentric position relative to the axis of the slitter knife to pressthe edge of the ribbons cut from the webs against the abutment roller tolead them forward.

4. In a device for cutting webs into ribbons,

' a slitter knife rotatable about its axis, an abutment roller rotatableon an axis. parallel to the axis of the slitter knife and cooperatingtherewith to cut the webs, an annular presser member at each side of theslitter knife and each having one 'side in engagement therewith, a pair'of collars rotating with the slitter knife and each being in frictionalengagement with the other side of each presser member, and an adjustableknife l8, and-the flange 89, when the webs H are being fed'bet'ween thedrag roller I4 andthe' presser members 8| and 82. By manipulating theadjusting nuts 52, any desired driving pressure of the presser members8| and 82 upon the webs may be obtained, and if one or more of the websshould break before reaching'the slitter device, the remaining webs willstill be pressed against the drag roller by substantially the samepressure as before.

4 It will be understood that the invention may be embodied inother'speciflc forms without departing from the spirit or essentialattributes thereof, and it is therefore desired that the presentembodiment be considered in all respects as slitter knife rotatableabout its axis, an abutment roller rotatable on an axis parallel to theaxis of the slitter knife and having a groove positioned tensionapplying means acting onat least one of the collars to press it againstthe-presser members-and said member against the slitter knife, thepresser members being adapted to move laterally in respect to the axisof the slitter knife into an eccentric position to press each edge'formed'by cutting the webs into ribbons against the abutment roller tofeed' them forward.

5. In a web slitting and feeding device, a driven disc type slitterknife, a drag roller having. a V groove positioned to receive the edgeof the slitter knife to cut webs into ribbons, a presser member adjacent the slitter knife and having two axis anda peripheral facecooperating with the drag roller to feed the ribbons cut from the webs,a spring pressed collar having a friction face in engagement with one ofthe friction faces on the presser member to press it against the slitterknife. the presser member being adapted to move laterally without movingthe collar and into eccentric relation 'in respect to the slitter knifeto apply yielding pressure to the ribbons cut fro the webs. I e

pressed collar in engagement with at least one of the presser members topress it against the slitter knife, the presser member being adapted tomove laterally into eccentric relation in respect to the slitter knifeto apply pressure to the ribbons cut from the webs.

7. In a device for slitting and feeding'ribbons from a web, a drivenshaft, a slitter knife mounted on the shaft to rotate therewith, aribbon engaging presser member at each side of the slitter knife andbeing adapted to move laterally in respect to-the axis of the shaft tobe eccentric to the slitter knife, and a member engaging friction collarmounted on the shaft to rotate therewith to drive the presser members.

8. In a device for slitting and feeding ribbons out from. a web, a.driven shaft, a slitter knife mounted on the shaft to rotate therewith,a ribbon engaging presser member at each side of the slitter knife andadapted to move laterally in respect to the axis of the shaft to beeccentric to the slitter knife, and a member engaging friction collarmounted On the shaft to rotate therewith to drive the presser members.

9. Ina device for slitting and feeding ribbons from a web, a drivenshaft, a slitter knife mounted on the shaft to rotate therewith, aribbon engagingpresser member at each side of the slitter knife andadapted to be moved laterally with respect to the axis of the shaft torun eccentric 6 to the slitter knife, a member collar mounted on theshaft'to rotate therewith to drive the presser members, spring meansacting against the friction collar, and means to adjust the pressure ofthe spring.

10. In a device for slitting and feeding ribbons ribbons cut from a web,a driven slitter support including a sleeve having a flanged collar, anaxially slidable collar on the sleeve, a pair of presser rings'locatedbetween the collars and loose on the sleeve, a nut adjustable on thesleeve,

and a spring between the nut and the slidable collar, in combinationwith a slitter knife held between the presser members and rotatablydriven with one of the collars, and a driven abutment roller having agroove cooperating with the slitter knife, the slitter'support being somounted with respect to the abutment roller that the presser rings areforced into eccentric relation with the axis of the sleeve.

11. In a device for slitting and feeding ribbons f out from a web,a-driven slitter shaft, a sleeve secured to the shaft and having aflanged collar, an axially slidable collar on the .sleeve, a pair ofpresser members between the collars and loose on the sleeve, a slitterknife between the presser members and rotatably driven with one of thecollars, a nut adjustable on the sleeve, a spring between the nut andthe slidable collar, and a driven abutment roller having a groovecooperating with the slitter knife; the slitter shaft being mounted withrespect to the abutment roller that the presser members are forced intoeccentric'relation with the slitter shaft.

WIILIAM F. HEICK.

engaging friction

